Collapsible crate.



No. 745,892. PATENTED DEC. l, 1903. W. H. ORR.

GOLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

APPLICATION FILED MAB.. 21, 1903.

NO MODEL.

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No. 745,892. Patented December 1, 1903.

UNITED STATES PATENT OFFICE.

WILLIAM H. ORB, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS, ASSIGNOR OF ONE-HALF TO JOHN MCCLANE, OF CORPUS CHRISTI, TEXAS.

COLLAPSIBLE CRATE.

SPECIFICATION forming part of Letters Patent No. 745,892, dated December 1, 1903.

Application tiled March 21, 1903. SerialNo.148,882. (No model.)

T all wwm t may concern-f' say, the wires extend across opposite sides of Be it known that I, WILLIAM H. ORP., a citithe strip and are twisted between said strips zen of the United States, and a resident of to separate them the desired distance, the Corpus Christi, in the county ofNueces and spacing apart being determined by the num- 55 State of Texas, have invented a Collapsible ber of twists or coils. This produces a se- Crate,of which the followingisaspecification. ries of iiexibly-connected strips which may The object of this invention is to provide a be either folded, as shown in Fig. 3, or rolled barrel-shaped crate in which the top and botup for transportation or reshipment and tom pieces or heads can be readily detached which when desired for use may be arranged, 6o lo from the sides and the parts folded to occupy as shown in Figs. 1 and 2, to form the body comparatively little space for convenience in of a barrelshaped crate or otherwise arshipping the empty crate back to the proranged to form the sides of a box. Several ducer. of these strips a are provided near their op- A further object of the invention is to prooposite ends with slots a', extending from one 65 vide a collapsible crate of this character in side, and with which slots are adapted to enwhich the body is made up of strips separated gage headed pins c, projecting from the pefrom each other, so that the said crate is riphery ot the top and bottom pieces or heads especially adapted for shipping fruit or vege- C and C', respectively, and some of said strips tables of that class which require plenty of are also provided with holes or recesses a2, 7o zo air; but though I have shown this form of with which engage spring-wire catches D,

crate it will be obvious that the strips formcarried by the heads and hereinafter deing the sides may be more closely connected scribed. to provide a tight crate or box. The head C is simply a disk, and the head A further object of the invention is to pro- C' is similar in shape and thicker and pro- 75 z5 vide a collapsible crate in which the bottom vided with a circumferential recess c', in and top pieces or heads are securely connectwhich the lower ends of the strips otare ed to the sides to produce a very strongstruestepped. It is obvious, however, that both ture and at small expense. ends of the crate may be the same-that is,

W'ith these objects in-vie'w the invention like either the top C or the bottom C-and 8o 3o consists of a crate made up of flexibly-conit is apparent that if both were constructed nected strips forming the body and connectlike the bottom C a stronger and more rigid ed by top and bottom pieces or heads and structure would be produced. spring-wire loops for securing the heads to The catches for securing the 00p and b013- the sides, all as will be hereinafter fully detom to the sides are exactly alike, and there- 85 scribed, and more specifically stated in the fore a description of one set will also answer Vappended claims. for the other, the same letters of reference In the drawings, Figure l is a side elevabeing employed in both. These catches contion of acrate constructed in accordance with sist of two spring-wire loops l) D', the ends my invention. Fig. 2 is a plan view. Fig. of which are adapted to be projected beyond 9o 4o 3 is a view showing the parts folded or arthe edges of the top and bottom to engage ranged for reshipment empty. Fig. 4 is a the holes or recesses d2 in the strips a. These sectional view through the bottom of the spring-wire loops are slidably held upon the crate and catches thereon. Fig. 5 is a detail top and bottom pieces by means of staples c, view of one of the strips forming the flexible which latter may also serve to limit the move- 95 body of the crate. ment of said loops. The loop D is contract- Like lettersof referenceindicate like parts ed at its inner end, forming, practically, a in the several views of the drawings. tongue d, while the adjoining end of the com- A designates the body of the crate, which panion loop is bent upward slightly, as at d', is composed of a number of strips a, connectso that the end of the tongue may spring into xoo 5o ed together by wires b after the manner of locked engagement therewith. It will be connecting the panels of a fence-that is to noted by reference to Fig. 2 that when the inner end of the other loop, practically lockf ing the parts, the ends of the loops yielding sufficiently to accomplish this purpose.

The ends of the strips having the slots and holes or recesses may be protected by wearplates, as indicated in the drawings, and a few of the strips may be also provided with blocks a5, (see Fig. 5,) against which the heads may abut.

The iieXibly-connected strips forming the sides of the crate may be folded upon the heads, as shown in Fig. 3, or may be rolled up, and when so arranged will occupy but little space, and when it is desired to make up the crate it is only necessary to pass the connected strips around the heads and after placing them in engagement with the headed pins operate the catches to secure the parts.

Having thus described my invention, what I claim is- .l. In a collapsible crate, the combination, of the body composed of iiexibly-connected strips a number of which are provided with open-ended slots and adjacent holes or recesses, heads provided with headed pins adapted to engage the slots and catches comprising spring-wire loops adapted to interlock at their inner looped ends when the outer ends are projected into engagement- With the aforesaid holes or recesses, substantially as shown and described.

2. In a collapsible crate, the combination, of the body composed of eXibly-connected strips a number of which are provided with open-ended slots, heads provided with headed pins adapted to engage said slots, and springwire loops slidably mounted in line with each other on said heads, one of said loops being contracted at its inner or looped end to form a tongue an-d the other having a raised portion at its inner or loop end with which the end of the tongue is adapted to engage and lock.

3. In a collapsible crate, the combination, of the body composed of ileXibly-connected strips a number of which are provided with slots, heads having circumferential recesses vin which the ends of the strips are stepped,

headed pins on the heads adapted to engage the slots in the stripsLand catches comprising spring-wire loops adapted to interlock at their inner looped ends when the outer ends are projected into engagement with the body of the crate.

WILLIAM H. ORR.

Witnesses:

JOSEPH DUNN, LAWRENCE DUNNE. 

